Facing Dragons
by Cosette 24601
Summary: When Susan runs off to Romania to get away from talk of magic and Narnia, she hardly expected to find dragons. But when a certain freckled red-head pulls her into another magical, dragon-filled world, she can't help but go along for the ride
1. Chapter 1

_**Note: This story follows the Harry Potter timeline, not the Narnian timeline.**_

There are dragons in this world. And not just the figurative type. Susan already knew there were people she'd consider dragon-like, boasting, dangerous, greedy, hoarding their treasures with their fiery breaths. Several of her exes could easily fit that description. But she hadn't thought there were _dragons_. True, actual fire-breathing, flying around, scaly _dragons_. Just like the ones she had known in another world, in another life.

She found out about them in the most peculiar way. She had run off for a spell, to get away from their nagging reminders of a world they had lost, one she had long lost belief in.

"A one way ticket to whatever the farthest place this will get me," Susan said, handing over a few pounds to the cross woman who slowly counted them out.

The woman sighed and consulted her dog-eared page of fares. "Romania?" she said sarcastically, clearly not thinking Susan would take it.

"Romania then," Susan said, reaching out an expectant hand. The woman gave her a strange look but handed it over.

She rested her head against the foggy window, pulling out her sketchbook. Maybe something in her knew that the random choice of location was a sign. Or maybe this was just one of a whole list of coincidences that lead her to discovering the magic of this world. But coincidence or not, she decided to start drawing a dragon. She had only ever seen two dragons – three if you include Eustace, although she had only ever seen him human. But she could imagine based on the stories those three returned with.

"This train is _insanely_ crowded," a voice suddenly said. Susan looked up and saw a man, maybe just a few years older than her , peering down at her, his unruly red hair covering half his face.

"Yes, it is," Susan said shortly before returning to her sketches.

"Dragons, huh. Pretty accurate drawing," the man said. Susan gave him a confused look. He winked. She did not know what to make of that, and rather did not care as he would most likely take her asking as an invitation to linger longer.

"Mind if I sit here? I had to leave my seat for an elderly woman who just got on. And well, this the only space left," the man said, gesturing to the seat opposite of her. "Unless another elderly person decides to come on before others get off again."

She picked up her bag that she had left there and put it on the ground next to her. He took that as an invitation and sat across from her, lounging backwards and kicking his feet up on the seat next to her. She intentionally shuffled a bit to the side away from his feet, hoping he would take the hint. He did not.

"So you are...Susan?" he began.

She gave him a look.

"It's on your bag," he pointed out.

"Oh, right. Yes."

When she did not continue by asking his name, he attempted to begin conversation again by asking, "So, Susan, why are you drawing dragons?"

Susan put her pen down, sighing. She indulged him with, "I think they are very interesting to draw. The way their scales catch the light – I mean would catch the light. If they were real that was."

"You aren't drawing in color," the man pointed out.

"I don't need to," Susan said smugly, showing him the drawing.

The grin disappeared from his freckled face as he leaned over to look at the drawing more closely.

"Wow. This is really, really accurate," he said, a suspicious tinge to his voice.

"Accurate?" Susan questioned.

"Accurate," the man said with another wink.

"To how a scale might catch the sunlight if there were any scaly creatures that could fly?" Susan pressed.

"Of course. What else could I mean? After all, dragon's don't really exist," the man said with another wink.

"Is something wrong with your left eye?" Susan asked pointedly.

The man bit his lip, looking her up and down appraisingly. "No. So, ah, why are you headed to Romania?"

"Not so much headed towards anything as headed away from things," Susan said. "You?"

"My job's there. Animal control," he said.

"Animal control? I'm sure there's plenty of similar jobs in England. Why travel so far?" Susan said. She had been pulled into the conversation despite herself.

"I specialize in...let's say unusual creatures," he said.

"Unusual?" Susan asked.

"Would you believe me if I said dragons?" he said eagerly.

Susan frowned and picked up her pen again. "Now you're just mocking me." She began sketching again, trying to ignore him as she had originally intended to do.

"Nah, just wishful thinking. Wouldn't dragons be awesome?" the man said, although something seemed off. Susan just couldn't put her finger on what exactly that might be.

"I suppose," she said shortly.

"I bet if dragon's existed, I could ride wrangle one. Ride it around," he teased.

Susan snorted at that before thinking how odd that reaction might seem.

"What, you don't think I could?"

"Not unless you're fireproof," Susan challenged, even though she knew very well that fire was actually the least of your problems, for some dragons at least. She had challenged a dragon once, well, she and Edmund. They had been on their annual tour of the Lone Islands when a horned red dragon had swooped in to try to steal a child. She had taken a flame straight to the face, but it was so weak that it only really singed the tips of her hair which she was able to pat out rather quickly. It was the teeth and horns that were the problem.

"Maybe I am," he grinned. "Or just too fast for them."

"No one's too fast for a dragon," Susan scoffed.

The man lounged backwards. "I am."

After a moment's thought, Susan suddenly said, "How could you know if you're faster than a mythical creature?"

He just laughed. "Well, if you ever come across a dragon, send me a letter."

"So if I ever happen to see a mythical creature, I should contact an address I do not even have?" Susan pointed out.

"Got any spare paper on that sketchpad?" he asked, reaching out an eager hand.

Susan deliberated, but it could be helpful to have at least a way to contact one person. "Sure."

He scribbled down an address. "My work address...and my friend's address that I stay at. Feel free to drop by there anytime. And since you seem alone here... if there's an emergency and you need someone, try catching me at work then. Especially if the emergency involves dragons," he said with another wink.

"If I see any dragons, I'll be sure to let you know...Charles?" Susan said, looking at the slip and trying to read the name on it.

"I go by Charlie, actually," he said with a lopsided grin. "Charlie Weasley."


	2. Chapter 2

Susan quickly settled into a dull, monotone life. She found a British family looking for an au pair to help their children improve their English. It was colorless and tedious life, but she was glad to be away for awhile. In the mornings when the children were at their other lessons, she liked to go for walks through the streets to get to know the area. Today though, she decided to wander a bit farther, now used to the town. It quickly became less populated the further she wandered out.

She hummed to herself absentmindedly. She eventually realized she had gone from humming songs from her childhood to songs the Fauns and Dryads had taught her. She froze when she realized it, shaking her head side to side in an attempt to clear it. She had left to get all that Narnian silliness behind her, not to start humming Narnian lullabies the first moment she was really alone.

She suddenly realized something was rubbing against her leg. She carefully looked, using only her upper body so that no sudden movements might startle it. But then she had to stifle a scream when she saw it.

It was some sort of scaly reptile, perhaps as tall as to her knee. The scales had a greenish tinge, but managed to catch the light all the same. But what truly shocked her was that the creature had wings. Wings! Great, maroon wings, larger than the creature itself. As much as she wanted to deny it, there was no mistaking it: this was a dragon.

Susan crouched down, carefully reaching an arm out. "Hello there," she said cautiously, unsure what to do. If distant memories of Narnian dragons were anything to go by, baby dragons were not nearly as dangerous. So perhaps this dragon really was as nonthreatening as it appeared to be. When the dragon did not respond, she knew it was not a Talking Dragon. But she still could not understand how a dragon was here, in Romania of all places! But as ever, she stayed composed. She looked around to make sure there was no one else present. She cupped her hands to pick it up. It tottled over, favoring its right side.

"What's wrong?" Susan mused, her gentle side winning out over any fear. The dragon hopped onto her hand. She winced as it breathed a tiny burst of fire, rapidly patting it out. She would have to treat that later, but she had managed far worse before. "Hey, hey. I just want to help." She quickly became frantic, not knowing how to help it. But she looked it over more closely and saw that its wing was ripped. "Poor thing."

She carefully removed her coat to make a sling out of it to hide the dragon in. "Just stay quiet there, baby," she said in a soothing voice, desperately hoping the dragon would not suddenly decide to breath fire again, particularly in a crowded town square where it was sure to cause a panic. She decided to take as many unusual streets as possible to avoid the crowds. She managed to make it back to the family's house. They were nice enough to offer for her to make one-long distance call of their phone a month and she had not yet called her family in her attempt to distance herself from them.

"Hello?" a familiar, confused voice said. "Who is this?"

"Peter!" Susan said in relief.

"Susan?" Peter said, his voice incredulous, but Susan could perhaps hear some excitement in his voice. "Where are you? You took off! Without a goodbye! Barely even a note!"

"I know, I know. I – had to get away, but – "

"From what? From the truth? You're still denying Narnia, aren't you?" he accused hotly. "First you hurt Edmund and Lucy by denying Narnia and then you just _leave_ them? How could you?"

"I know, I know! Peter, listen – "

"No, _you_ listen. Get back here!"

"No," Susan said instantly. She never responded well to orders. If he had plead or even just asked, she might have. But she would not give in to his orders.

"No?" Peter said, the High King returning to his voice.

"No. I will not return. But...tell them I believe in Narnia now," Susan decided, her mind made up. If Peter was refusing to listen to her, she would go to someone who would.

"What is this, sister mine?" Peter demanded. Susan cringed at the almost courtly way of speaking. It might frighten subjects in Narnia, but even if she had ever been that easily cowed in Narnia, it truly held no sway here. "Are you toying with them now?"

"No, no. I need to go. Goodbye, brother," Susan said curtly, ending the call abruptly. She chewed on her lip, her eyes watching the slowly tottering dragon youth make its way across the table. She slowly walked over to it, careful not to disturb it. "Come here, little dragon. There you go. Right here into my arms."

She petted it lightly as it slowly breathed on her neck, its thin fumes only just barely scorching her neck. "Now what am I going to do with you, hm? My siblings, they are the adventurous ones; they'd know what to do. But I can't call them again. And who knows what they'd say anyways? They aren't going to believe I found a dragon! In this world, I mean. They'd believe it in Narnia, sure. But you? Here? That might be hard for anyone to believe. So just what am I to do with you?"

Her eyes fell on her bag in the corner. She suddenly strode over, feeling for a slip of paper in the pocket. For a moment, she felt only air until her fingers finally curled around Charlie's address. She found a map and headed on her way, hoping she could return it before the family even knew it was missing.

She was grateful that it turned out Charlie was not too far by bus. Sneaking the dragon onto the bus was another problem. Terrified it would move or otherwise be obvious, she dropped the dragon in her bag as she stepped onboard.

"Is that a dog in your bag?" the bus driver demanded, pointing at her blue satchel.

"Ah...it's shy?" Susan asked hopefully.

The bus driver just snorted. "No dogs on my bus."

"It...it's lost and I'm trying to return it to the address on its collar," Susan lied. To her fright, the dragon decided them to scorch a hole in the bag from the inside out. She shuffled it to her side, her hand absently rising to cover it better.

"Fine. Just make sure it doesn't cause trouble," the bus driver finally said. She quickly sat down, cuddling the dragon in her arms, hoping it would not be noticed. She scampered off the bus as fast as she could the moment she got to her stop, rushing out.

She found the building listed, the door locked. She pressed the button listed next to Charlie's name.

"Helloooooo?" he drawled.

"Charlie? It's me, Susan. From the train. It's...it's an emergency."

"Well, how could I say no to that?" Charlie said, buzzing her in. Susan ran up the stairs as quickly as she could without disturbing the dragon.

He was leaning against his doorframe when she made it to his floor. His blue eyes took her in, and indecipherable grin on his face. "Hello, dragon-girl! So what emergency have you concocted for the chance to see me again?" he teased with a playful wink.

Susan scowled at the transparent flirting. Boys in this world never could quite flirt the way courtiers could in Narnia. "It's a real emergency," she reprimanded.

Charlie sighed and straightened up, becoming serious when he realized she was not in the mood for teasing. "What is it, Susan?"

"So, just how serious were you about the dragon thing?" she said, suddenly unusually shy.

He frowned, his eyes flickering up and down to size her up. "What do you mean?"

"I – Do you really believe in dragons?" she asked.

He suddenly grinned again. "Are you teasing me? Making up an emergency about dragons? You know, I really meant you could drop by or write me a letter, dragon emergency or no. Though if it was dragons, all the better."

"Well, I hope you really mean that," Susan said, deciding to just go for it already and gingerly removing the petite dragon from her bag. "Since I really do have, ah, a dragon emergency."


	3. Chapter 3

"Bloody hell!" Charlie swore. "You weren't kidding! You found _Gertrude_!"

"I – ah – what?" Susan said, thrown. She had still not yet believed that Charlie would actually believe her.

"Gertrude!" he crooned, reaching and taking the dragon from Susan's arms, gesturing for her to follow him in. "Ned! Hey, Ned! Guess what the artist from the train found!"

"You – you know this dragon?" she asked incredulously.

"Sure. Gertrude's a total sweetheart," he said, stroking her ears until he noticed the wing. "Shit. What happened to her?"

"No idea. I found her this way," Susan said, still dumbfounded. "So...all that about dragons. You really weren't joking?"

"What animals do you think I was talking when I said animal control? Like you said, I would have stayed in England if there was nothing unique about my job here," he teased. He grew more serious after she threw him a dirty look. "How about you though? You seem a bit less confused that I'd imagine, and you depicted dragons so accurately. No way is this the first dragon you've seen."

Susan was still staring at him open-mouthed before she realized the question had been addressed to her. "Right – oh, ah – well, I – didn't know dragons existed – in – in this world, I mean – "

"This world?" Charlie said, suddenly as confused as she was.

"Gertrude! You found her!" Ned crooned, petting Gertrude and kissing her forehead. "Oh, and this gorgeous minx must be the lady you met on the train."

"Susan – Susan! Her name is Susan," Charlie said hastily. He turned to Susan, saying, "Sorry."

"So – dragons? In this world?" Susan pressed, ignoring Ned's comment.

"Yes. Wait, what do you mean by _this_ world?" Charlie asked with a frown. "You aren't a witch?"

"A – Excuse me?" Susan said, rather offended. "What?"

"You don't know...any wizard or witches?"

"N-Not in this world," Susan said breathlessly, trying to figure out what was going on. Charlie and Susan both just stared at each other, equally confused.

"World?" Ned asked, glancing at Charlie as though he might know. Charlie shrugged, eyes wide with confusion.

"I – I – this is going to sound crazy," Susan said in a small voice.

"Well, you seem not surprised that magic and dragons exist, but rather than they exist in this world. I'm willing to believe whatever crazy thing you say," Charlie said. "Since there's no way your first reaction was faked. Besides, I would believe you anyways."

Susan was rather charmed by his words, as awkward as they might be. She took a deep breath to steady herself. She had tried to suppress memories of Narnia, but dragons made it a bit difficult to deny. As it was, she almost felt tempted to backtrack, say that it was something in this world, but she had already signified 'this world' too many times. She decided to not mention the wardrobe though, as the wardrobe being the portal between worlds seemed even more ludicrous. "We – found a portal – we being my siblings and I that is – ahh, we found a portal to another world. A country called Narnia. There were dragons – not usually there per say, but in the surrounding lands. And ah, witches, but they were all evil."

"Oh, that's ...unfortunate. Not true at all in this world," Charlie said easily.

"Y-you believe me? Just like that?"

"Sure. Never heard of other worlds before, but seems illogical to assume we could be the only ones out there," Charlie shrugged.

"I don't believe you, but I'm guessing it's only Charlie's opinion you care about," Ned said, gesturing between Susan and Charlie and wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

"Ned!" Charlie whispered.

"H-How could there be wizards and witches in this world? And dragons? None of those make sense," Susan pressed on, too disturbed by that to care about Ned's insinuation. "Dragon's aren't exactly inconspicuous. And my experience with magic-users in Narnia show they rarely like to hide."

"Well, there have been problems. Witch hunts, you know? So most keep a low profile and those who don't, well..."

"Burn?" Susan suggested.

"Used to. Now there's a Ministry of Magic which tries to suppress such things," Charlie explained.

"Bit of a nightmare too. They keep thinking that we aren't doing our job well," Ned scoffed, looking up from 'Gertrude' who he was tending to carefully.

"Your job..."

"Who do you think keeps the dragons in check?" Charlie said with a wink.

"So that's your job here? Dragon taming?" Susan said, still astonished.

"Not sure if taming so much as just trying to keep them from going on rampaging massacres," Ned commented. Susan laughed a little at that, noticing how strange a statement it was compared to how gentle Ned was being with Gertrude. Even stranger when he kissed Gertrude's snout saying, "Who's a good girl? Oh, yes, you're a good girl."

"In Narnia, even the baby dragons were never as docile as Gertrude," Susan commented.

"Just wait until she hits puberty," Charlie grinned. "So, what about you? What have you been doing?"

"I got a position as an au pair," Susan said, not wanting to talk about it. It was already uninteresting enough on its own. Now that she knew Charlie regularly tussled with dragons, it became all the more bland and commonplace.

"Then leave it and come work for us! Our company, I mean. You can stay with us too," Charlie said enthusiastically.

"Work with dragons?" Susan said incredulously.

"You took care of Gertrude amazingly well with no idea that dragons here even existed," Ned pointed out. "But Charlie, she's a Muggle."

"A what?" Susan asked.

"We could easily claim she's a Squib with British relatives. Britain's too far to check out those claims," Charlie said, his voice pacing quicker with excitement. "Oh, Su , squibs are people who are born to magic users, but can't use it themselves. So unlike the also nonmagic Muggles, they tend to know about magic. Since it's so hard to hide at home. So let's do it! Tell them you're a Squib, but that you have a lot of practical dragon knowledge!"

Susan gulped, fazed by his excitement. As far as she was concerned, he might as well be a complete stranger. After all, she had only met him by chance for a short while on the train. While he certainly seemed friendly, she had been ever more reserved since Narnia. She knew trust was something that needed to be earned. Anyone being too friendly with her was an incredibly suspicious sign. While she thought he might just be doing in out of interest, she could never be too careful. "I – really don't. Have ...that much dragon knowledge, I mean," she stammered defensively.

"Sure you do. You're a natural for it!" Charlie exclaimed. "All we got to do is brush you up on enough magic knowledge to make you a convincing Squib!"

"And just where is she staying if she's leaving her au pair place?" Ned demanded.

"Move into my room," Charlie offered.

"Excuse me?" Susan said, affronted.

"I can move out onto the couch," he said hastily, putting his hands up. "I didn't mean anything by it, I swear! Ned can back me up on that."

"Suuuuure," Ned drawled unhelpfully. Susan carefully studied Charlie's face, still unsure what his intentions were. She could see his face turn red at the latest insinuation. She wanted to believe that it was a simple school-boy style crush based on how nice he had been, but some of their worst enemies in Narnia appeared nice at first too. "Kidding. Charlie's never even dated a girl. Way too interested in his dragons. Nothing to worry about here."

"Oh, sure, because I believe _that_ after your entire expert flirting," Susan scoffed, doubting every word of it.

Charlie stared, confused. "I…wasn't flirting."

"He's totally serious. Charlie is sometimes just that ridiculously friendly. When I first met him, totally thought he was gay and into me. Heck, almost turned me," Ned joked.

"Huh," Susan said, not sure whether to believe him or not.

"Wait, what?" Charlie said, startled.

"Anyways, you want to move in? Could use help with having a third for the rent?" Ned said quickly.

"So...what do you say? You definitely didn't sound excited to be an au pair," Charlie encouraged.

"Well, um..." Susan said. She tried to defend what she was doing, but in the end, she said what she knew she would say all along. "Yes. Yes, I...I miss it. I miss adventure. I miss magic. I want to do this. By the Lion! I…I want this!"

"Yes!" Charlie crowed, punching the air excitedly before realizing that maybe it was too much. He cleared his throat and said in a much more even voice. "I mean, that sounds wonderful. I'll help you move in as soon as you're ready."

As suspicious as she still was of him, Susan's manners were always as impeccable as a queen's. "Thank you for your generosity," she said graciously, allowing herself to give him a small smile.

"I'll send an owl to Allie about it," Ned said. "Let her know to expect Susan on Monday. Oh! And to tell her we found Gertrude. She seemed worried sick."

"Monday. So we have a few days to move you in and get you caught up on what we do," Charlie grinned.

"And…this entire world. I …This is so wild! Magic existing secretly in this world!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes, yes it is. But what I am more interested in is your story," he said, pointing to her before taking her hand to get her to sit by the table. He listened intently as she briefly told him about what happened after Narnia. She expected he would press her on Narnia itself, but somehow he seemed to understand that she did not want to talk about it. "And…I tried calling my brother. Who just...blew me off. He…I miss them so much now. I get it though. I did…try to claim that Narnia was not real for so long. And then just up and left them. I am a terrible sister!"

"Susan, Susan, look at me," Charlie said, grabbing her hand and making her look at him. "You are not a terrible sister. You were going through a hard time. It is okay for you to prioritize your own mental well-being."

"But I am their sister! I have to –"

"Please. It sounds like you have done so much for them. They shouldn't always rely on you so much," he argued.

"I rather not talk about them right now. How about we talk about your family instead?" Susan smiled.

"That's fine. Maybe later, possibly? So my family," he said, briefly telling her about each of his siblings. After he wrapped it up, he said, "Maybe we can take the train together back to England at some point and you could meet them."

"Um…Charlie? Why would I be meeting your family?" Susan said suspiciously. "Seems like a very couple sort of thing to do."

"Again, nothing meant by it," he said easily. "Figured you just might like that, being estranged from your family and all. Although they'll be just as obnoxious I'm sure. Just in different ways."

Susan laughed lightly at that. "So all this…um…what anyone else would call flirting? It's all just an act?"

"Not sure what that means, but I can assure you, no interest. Particularly since it seems like there's a story why you are so paranoid about this," Charlie said, trying not to look too interested. "I'm assuming there's…some sort of awful reasoning behind why you are so concerned."

"Multiple reasons. Although one in particular. Rabadash. He was…a prince," she began, gulping down her tea a bit too fast.

"Do you want some more to drink? Is this still a tea sort of talk or a booze sort of talk?" he offered.

"Some red might be nice," Susan admitted as Charlie grabbed a bottle to pour for them.

"So a prince, huh? Literal or figurative?"

"Literal. We were royalty in Narnia. So I thought I had to marry and you know, marry well. But I could not go through with it."

"And?"

"That's all," she clammed up, but the way her eyes darkened made it clear there was far more to the story.

"Sure. If you ever feel like talking about it, well, I have more than enough wine to make that conversation tolerable," he said easily.

"Thanks," Susan said, sipping her drink as her eyes judged him silently.

He sat down again against her, reaching for her hand. She tried not to react to his touch so noticeably. "Susan. I do hope we can be friends, even if . You seem like a wonderful person."

"And absolutely no romantic interest? I…unfortunately, you do someone remind me of …mean…you have no interest in me, right?" she fumbled, all the various images of past suitors floating past her eyes. "And I really have never had a romantic interest in anyone, so all the attention I get, I never want it."

"Of course not," he reassured, frowning a bit. He was rather confused what she was concerned about, but knew squeezing her hand before walking away, saying, "I can absolutely guarantee I have and will have no romantic interest in you whatsoever."

While generally that was a reassurance Susan would like, if believable. She was surprised to feel a weird twinge she could not quite explain. At first she thought it might be that she did not believe his words, but that was somehow not it. "Huh," she said as he walked away, her manicured finger tapping her glass.


	4. Chapter 4

"Impossible," Susan marveled, her eyes taking in the dragons flying about.

"I know, right? I love this. Most wizards and witches will never even see a sight like this. So many of them think these beautiful creatures are somehow monsters," Charlie said.

"I can't imagine why," Susan said sarcastically.

"Neither can I. They are _so_ magnificent," Charlie said earnestly, missing the sarcasm. Susan flinched slightly at the term "magnificent".

Ned returned with a short woman with a pink pixie cut and a ripped shirt.

"This is Allie," he introduced.

"So you are the Squib that found Gertrude?" she asked succinctly, reaching out a calloused hand which Susan shook.

"Yes, ma'am. Susan Pevensie."

"Glad to have you. I will be your supervisor. And we have an opening since Hershal is taking a …recuperative break after that mishap that lead to Gertrude getting out," Allie said curtly.

"So he didn't get fired?" Charlie asked.

"No, nope. Just euphemism for him getting fired," Ned shrugged.

"Oh."

"Unimportant. Susan, come with me," Allie instructed. "Let me show you the pen. We will start you with the baby dragons. Less fire, so less need for magic to contain them."

"Impossible," Susan marveled again, looking at the little baby dragons shuffling about.

"Impossible? Strange choice of words," Allie said curtly, clearly not expecting an actual answer as she went ahead with showing Susan her duties.

She met up with Ned and Charlie again when they broke for lunch. "So how's the first day?"

"Wonderful. I love working with creatures," she said happily.

"Oh good," Charlie said, looking very relieved.

"You thought I wouldn't like it?"

"Well…since you said you were a …you know… in Narnia…this type of work might be beneath you or whatever," Charlie said awkwardly, trying to hide anything that would make it clear that Narnia was anything more than some random city.

"I love working with creatures. And I've always loved getting my hands dirty, you know? Very hands on, actually doing things myself. I hated that it always distanced me from the work, other than the occasionally chance, but that was more for show. I really, really like this sort of work," she said earnestly.

"So who's the new girl, Charles?"a casually dressed witch dressed fully in Muggle clothes and yet still calling attention to herself with unusually large hoop earrings and a tattoo of a long- tailed dragon starting with its head on her cheek and its tail dragging down to her right shoulder.

"Kaliyah, Susan. Susan, Kaliyah," Charlie introduced quickly.

"Pleasure."

"Likewise. So did you also go to Hogwarts like Charlie and Ned?" Susan asked.

"No, Beauxbatons," Kaliyah said. Susan wanted to ask, but Charlie gave a short shake of his head, indicating this should be something a Squib might recognize. "I understand the confusion though. Most Brits don't realize that French is a common enough second language in India."

Susan smiled, completely at a lost, but used to faking competence in such situations. "Of course."

"So you're all from England. What do you think of this Harry Potter news, Charles?"

"What part? He's all over the news," Susan said casually. Charlie had prepped her on this one.

"Apparently he was just brought to court for lying about dementors. Or that's what that stupid Ministry in England is saying," Kaliyah said, rolling her eyes.

"So you believe him?" Ned asked.

"Um, my brother's best friend, yo! Potter would never lie," Charlie said, annoyed.

"Well, there is something to be said for the possibility of a celebrity being too taken away by his celebrity status," Susan began.

"Hey!" Charlie protested.

"But on the other hand, it sounds like the Ministry is acting exactly how a dictatorial government might when someone is about to blow the thin cover off of their shady dealings," Susan continued, "Making it likely true."

Kaliyah and a few others gave her a strange look before Kaliyah said, "Oh, right. You went to Muggle school. You study government there?"

"A little bit, yeah," Susan said sheepishly, glad for the easy cover.

"Huh. The Squib knows things," one of the wizards Susan had not met yet said. She found it rude, but ignored the slight.

"Why do you think I invited her here?" Charlie grinned easily, lounging back.

"So wait…you think the Ministry knows they're covering up? Really?" another scoffed.

"It's classic overreaction. Dementors are their rule enforcers, so it would be quite unlikely they'd act of their own accord here. If they discount Potter by turning him into a criminal, then they've deflected. The attention is on him and his supposed criminal activities, rather than on them and their illegal activities," Susan explained, impressing everyone there. For the first time in the conversation, there was a lull as people stared at Susan.

"You work in government?" someone asked. "Seems like you know a lot."

"I…ah..dabbled a bit," Susan said vaguely.

"That would explain what my brother wrote me. Apparently Potter got a full on criminal trial. They'd never do that for something as small as a little underage magic, especially when only his cousin saw it. Heck, I did underage magic back home in England and got away with it," Charlie defended, jumping in before they started asking more questions about Susan's background.

At the end of the workday, after Charlie and Ned had used Side Along Apparition to get Susan home with them, Charlie explained further, commenting, "Sorry about lunch. It used to not be this way."

"Well, Mum says it was about the same when she used to work here and Voldemort was around the first time," Ned said. "Too many British people here."

"Well that and if he did conquer England, you know he'd be after everyone else next," Charlie countered. "So everyone should be worried, not just us. But there's been enough of the negative. Susan, how's the rest of your first day?"

"The baby dragons are fun," she said. "Much more well-behaved than I imagined, but I suppose that's the point of breeding them."

"Aye. We used them for experimentation. So we can better treat other dragons," Charlie explained.

"Yeah. That's the part I was less comfortable with," Susan said primly.

"Oh, it's totally humane. We wouldn't do anything to dragons that we wouldn't do to ourselves," Ned reassured.

"And he's only a little bit joking," Charlie grinned. "That being said, I wouldn't recommend taking the dragons' fire medicine."

"Yeah, accidently breathing fire every time I took a breath for about a week was _not_ fun," Ned laughed.

"Huh. That explains the random burn marks on some of the furniture," Susan commented politely. She would have reacted more to that if she had not been so used to taking such things in stride as Queen of such an unusual land as Narnia.

"Not the kitchen ones. That was from Ned here trying to cook," Charlie teased, giving Susan a wink as she rolled her eyes in amusement.

"Liar, that was you," Ned teased back.

"Okay, sure, but only because I have to do all the cooking since Ned's so much worse," Charlie shot back, making Susan giggle.

"I'm not the best cook but I can at least cook without risking burning down the house," Susan teased back lightly. Later, she helped Charlie as he made dinner. "You know, my brother is the cook in our family. No one ever suspected it, especially back in Narnia. But Peter always found it quite relaxing. And trust me, he needed something to relax with."

"This is the one who hung up on you, eh?" Charlie asked.

"Yep."

"Sure sounds like he needs something to relax with," Charlie said, raising an eyebrow. "I know he's your brother and you love him and all, but he sounds like a jerk."

"No he isn't!" Susan defended instantly. She actually might think the same occasionally, but she would never be okay with another person insulting him. "He can be the most charming, sweetest –"

Charlie raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "Right then."

"I… I might be a bit defensive of my brother," she relented.

"Just a wee bit," Charlie teased, holding up two spatulas to indicate a small portion, making Susan roll her eyes.

"He can be stubborn and obstinate at times, but he's always still my brother," she said, punching the dough she was kneading a bit too harshly. "I think you'd like him if you met him."

"Ah, that sounds like most brothers," Charlie laughed. "I ought to know."

"One of yours is a stubborn ox too?"

"Reminds me a bit of Perce," Charlie sighed, an unusually morose look on his face.

"Which one is that?"

"Percy basically left us since we're not blindly going along with the Ministry's shenanigans," Charlie said, using his wand to summon over more spices. "Quite the pompous git. He was always ambitious, but this is a whole different level. Family meant nothing compared to "

"Peter's not that way. Well, I suppose he technically put career first, but only because we all had to put Narnia first since the entire country was depending on us. But he always values family. He…he most likely thinks I betrayed them leaving as I did."

Charlie was quiet, his magic still preparing food even as he ignored it to turn his entire attention to Susan. He walked over to her, noticing her hand was shaking and took it into his. "You know, there's a Muggle…whatchamacallit? Talking box thing? So you can speak with him? There's one just down the street."

"A what?" Susan puzzeled.

"The Muggle equivalent of Floo Powder. Ah… fellytone I think my Dad called it? Same thing you used before?"

"Oh, a telephone," Susan realized. "I…I'll try again eventually. I suppose."

"You suppose?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I just, I really rather not talk to him, alright?" she said, swiftly yanking her hand from his.

"Fine. Then let's talk about what the heck is it that you're making there?" he asked, gesturing to the food she was braiding.

"Oh, it's a Narnian Dwarven treat. I'd tell you the name, but my Dwarfish is…terrible really. I can read and write and sometimes understand it, but making those guttural sounds myself is incredibly difficult. Only Ed ever even sort of got the hang of it," Susan said more cheerfully.

A small, amused smile came to Charlie's face.

Susan stared at him suspiciously. "What?"

"Nothing," he teased a bit too innocently.

" _Charlie_."

"Somehow everything you do relates back to them and that place," Charlie pointed out reluctantly. Susan just gave him an annoyed look, even though she knew he was right. "Maybe you should try calling your family again."

"No," Susan said in a tone that made it clear there would be no more conversation, although Charlie fully intended to come back around to it later. "Can I ask something?"

"Sure."

"This Harry Potter person, I should know more about him if I am going to fit in. What…what are his parents' names, for example?" Susan said with the attitude of a person intending to be casual.

"Um, ah…Lily and…John? No, James," he said. "Why?"

"Ah, no reason. Just interested in knowing more," Susan said, suddenly very interested in her dough. "Seem like they might be interesting people to meet."

"They…died when he was one year old. Voldemort killed both of them," Charlie said, staring at her intently.

"Oh," Susan said with a strange disappointment that mystified him.

"Have you heard about them before?" Charlie pressed.

"So this bread is usually made with this substance that we make from the leaves of Laek Dryads called Laekker. Obviously I cannot get that here, but I _think_ chocolate will make a good equivalent," Susan said without any sort of transition.

Charlie tucked that strange interaction away in his mind, knowing that to press Susan on this at this point in time would only make her more closed off. "Chocolate sounds _fantastic_ ," he said agreeably.


	5. Chapter 5

"Gertrude is getting so big," Susan commented, hanging with Charlie as he finished up for the day.

"Who's a big girl? Who's a big girl?" Charlie cooed at the growing dragon whose height now reached his shoulders. Susan pressed her lips together in amusement at the sight. He scratched behind her ears, explaining, "Dragon's tend to grow fast. She'll end up being at least three times this size by the time she's done. She's a real beauty."

"Kaliyah invited everyone to drinks tonight. You interested?" Susan asked casually, even though her shoulders tensed up, showing she actually did care about the answer.

"Not really. Although I guess I could go if you want," Charlie offered.

"I … it seems like it could be fun," Susan said encouragingly, grabbing his arm excitedly.

"Then drinks it is," Charlie said easily. He usually turned down going to bars, but going with Susan seemed much more pleasant. He cautiously slung an arm around Susan's shoulder, fully expecting her to shrug it off, but she seemed to ignore it.

When they arrived at The Whisper Pub, Charlie shouted over the loud music, "Why the heck is a place called 'Whisper' so damn loud?"

Susan chuckled and shouted back as she looked around the pub, "Do you see Kaliyah anywhere?"

"No idea. Let's just go get drinks," Charlie shouted back, desperately wishing that he hadn't agreed to this, or that Ned had been there with them to side with him in wanting to leave. They found a quieter corner to sit with their drinks. "Honestly, I'd be fine with it just being the two of us anyways."

"You didn't want to come, did you?" Susan guessed, amused.

"Not particularly. Kaliyah always drags us to these wild sorts of places," Charlie shrugged.

"I mainly went to try to meet more people at work. But just hanging with you is fine too," Susan shrugged, leaning her head against his shoulder. Charlie felt a little shock from the movement, but cautiously slung an arm around her. She glanced up at him, making him wonder if he should remove it, but then she smiled at him, so he naturally just smiled back.

"Oh! There's Halie," Susan suddenly said a few seconds later, getting up quickly. "Let's go join the others."

Meanwhile, Kaliyah had moved into a quieter corner so that she could chat with the handsome young man she had run into. "So what's your name? I couldn't hear over the noise," she said, touching her silver-painted fingers to his hair.

"Jack," he repeated again. "You are _very_ pretty."

"And you are _very_ drunk," Kaliyah mocked teasingly. "So what are you in Romania for? I can tell from your accent that you're British."

"On holiday. We were considering maybe Greece or Italy, but then our mate Peter really wanted Romania for some reason. And then has been missing for most of the trip, going no one knows where," he said.

"He has a girl here?" Kaliyah suggested, wagging an eyebrow.

"Something like that probably. But hey, could be worse places. At least you Romanian women are sexy," he said, moving in.

Kaliyah pushed him back, holding him at arm's length with a questioning look. "You think I'm Romanian?" she laughed. "You're seriously drunk. Too drunk. I don't make out with guys this level of drunkenness."

When she wandered back to the group, she found that Charlie had joined the group but seemed to be sulking in the corner. "Where's Su?" she said, leaning close to his ear so he could actually hear. They were on the far said, away from the music, but it was still pretty loud.

"Over there dancing. She already found some guy to dance with," Charlie said in a fairly monotone voice, taking another swig of his drink.

Kaliyah gave him an amused look. "I'm sure it would be you she was dancing with if you just asked."

"I don't care for dancing. I don't care who she dances with. She could dance with whoever she wants. I don't care who," he said.

"Sure," Kaliyah laughed. "That only made about half sense, so you're either drinking too hard, or crushing too hard."

"No idea what you're talking about," Charlie said a bit too quickly. "So who was the drunk buffoon you passed on over there?"

"Oh, he was too drunk and bland for my tastes. He and his buddies are on holiday from Britain. Friends of yours?"

"Oh, haha," Charlie said humorlessly, rolling his eyes. "Seems like a weird holiday choice."

"Weirdest thing. One of their mates made them come but apparently has no interest in spending time with them. Some bloke named Peter," Kaliyah relayed.

"Huh, weird," Charlie said aimlessly as their chat turned back to news from Hogwarts. Evidently Potter had been making headlines again. Charlie's mind strayed, not interested in rehashing the same debate yet again where he would just inevitably take the side of his brother's best mate. His gaze strayed over to Susan again. She was dancing with a man with shaggy, long hair who was starting to lean in. Charlie gripped his drink, but let go when he saw Susan quickly end the dance with that man, smoothly picking up some other man to dance with.

Charlie noticed some man duck out of the bar who he though looked like he could be related to Susan. He shook his head, amused by his own antics. Kaliyah must have gotten in his head. And yet he still could not help but be interested. He chased the man outside. "Hey! Ahh…" he trailed off, not sure exactly what he wanted to say. Asking if a random man happened to have any connection to Susan seemed absurd.

"Did Greg send you? You've seen her?" the man asked, turning around easily.

"Um, yeah, Greg. Didn't give me many details though, but said I needed to talk with you," Charlie said vaguely, his heart pounding a bit since lies did not come easily to him.

"So you must be Nick?" he asked. "So what do you know about her?"

"I…saw her a week ago," Charlie lied, still not entirely sure where to go with this.

"A week ago? That's the most I've heard about my sister so far," he said, looking eager.

"Yeah, but, sorry, Susan said she was moving on towards….England. Somewhere south England," Charlie said, carefully seeing if the name Susan would trigger any reaction.

"Seriously? Well, at least I get to head back in the general direction of home then I guess," Peter said, his voice even. "How long ago did she leave? Any idea why she was going back?"

"Ah, I…I don't know. She was headed next to… Turda. You could try asking around there," Charlie lied, feeling sick to his stomach. He knew he had wanted Susan to reunite with her family for her own good, but he was suddenly really reluctant to risk her leaving.

"Turda… I could be there by the morning if I take an overnight train. Anything else?" Peter asked.

"Ah…no," Charlie said hesitantly.

"Here's my card if you think of anything. Sorry it's international, but its my work number," Peter said, handing over his business card. Charlie stared at the words _Peter Pevensie_ emblazoned at the top of the ivory card.

"I…will," Charlie said, pocketing it and heading back to the bar, lingering at the door to ensure Peter was leaving.

"Hey, I was looking for you," Susan said, bouncing up to him cheerfully. "What you doing out there?"

"Ah, nothing," he lied. When Susan looked like she was about to question more, he grabbed her hand, "Let's dance."


	6. Chapter 6

Charlie jumped on the dragon, trying to wrangle it to the ground. This method generally worked better for the teenage dragons. This dragon though was probably twenty times his height, so this move was hardly effective.

"Catch!" Ned shouted, throwing up a rope. It missed, but Charlie _Accio_ 'ed it up the rest of the way. He tried to keep his eye of Ned for throwing it back down on the other side, but being thrown every direction by a giant dragon made it a tad difficult. He eventually just blindly threw it down. With much difficulty they eventually got a few loops around and were able to pull the dragon's head down so that Ned could throw some sleeping pills into his throat. Charlie slid off to find Ned giving him a suspicious look.

"What?" Charlie said, rubbing his dragon slobber covered hand against his pants to clean them off.

"Why do you have _this_? It must have fallen out of your pocket while you were up there," Ned said, handing over Peter's now worn-out business card. Charlie belated realized he was wearing the same pants he had worn to the bar previously.

"I – ahh…"

Ned simply raised an eyebrow. "Susan should know. Does she?"

"It's just a card," Charlie attempted feebly, but he quickly gave up, knowing Ned would keep pestering him. "I met Peter at that bar we went to last week. He was looking for Susan."

"Wait, _seriously_? Susan'll be so happy," Ned commented. "Where is he now?"

"I – ah…." Charlie said, scratching his head awkwardly.

Ned groaned. " _Charlie_!"

"I know, I know!" he whined.

"You know, how about we wrap this up and head out for lunch? You should talk with Susan then," Ned pointed out.

"Do I _have_ to?" he complained, although only asking rhetorically, knowing very well he should have told her the moment he met Peter.

"Yes!" Ned said incredulously. "What on earth has gotten into you?"

"Nothing," Charlie muttered as he began casting spells on the ropes to drag the dragon back to its cage.

Susan slid in next to him at lunch. "Charlie," she scolded.

"What?" Charlie said, practically jumping as he gave Ned a dirty look.

"You have literal _blood_ on your hands from dragon-wrangling! Did your mother not teach you any manners?" she scolded.

"Oh, right, haha," Charlie said sheepishly, magicking the dragon blood and grime off of his hand. "Hey, um… so… I… have to talk with you after we're done. Before lunch is over."

"You are acting rather strangely," Susan smiled, amused.

"Sure, sure," he said, trying to concentrate on his sandwich. After they ate, Susan and Charlie walked together down towards the pond.

"So?" Susan asked expectantly.

"I…have this," Charlie said, pulling out the business card.

Susan silently looked it over, her face hardening. "Where did you get this from?"

"He…was here," Charlie confessed. "I… _may_ have misdirected him."

"Mis…directed?" Susan said pointedly, each word hard as stone as she glared at him. "I do not understand."

"Susan, I am _so_ sorry," he panicked, his heart pounding forcefully. "I… I told him that you had been here, but left for Turda."

"He was looking for…for me?" she clarified in a small voice.

"Yeah," Charlie said, scratching his head awkwardly.

"How long ago?" Susan asked.

"When we were the bar," he confessed.

"You're despicable," Susan said, brushing past him coldly.

"Susan! Wait, Susan," he shouted after her, jogging lightly to catch up to her fast pace. "Are - Are you mad at me?"

"Yes! Of _course_ I am mad at you!" she exploded. "Why on earth would you keep this secret from me? He is my brother! And…I have no idea why he was even here! It could be any reason!"

"Then, then call him, I guess? Muggles have a way of doing that, right?"

"I suppose. You still should not have done that," Susan said darkly as she reached the table, sliding in next to Kaliyah. "Hey, Kali. I need a place to crash tonight."

"Why?" she frowned.

"Because Charlie's a deceitful, manipulative jerk," Susan said in an obnoxiously matter-of-fact voice that made Charlie wince.

"Oh, sure then," Kaliyah shrugged with a smirk in Charlie's direction. He rolled his eyes, about to try to retort, when Ned put a hand on his arm.

"Seriously, do _not_ push her right now. You would so regret that," Ned warned.

Susan took a break from work to take a bus to the nearest phone booth. "Hello?" she said uncertainly. "I, uh, would like to talk with Peter Pevensie."

"This is his mother," her mother answered.

"Is…Edmund Pevensie there?" Susan attempted, not wanting to face her mother who sure to not understand why she left.

"Sure. Eddie!" she called out.

"Hello?" Edmund muttered.

"Ed, it's me, S – "

"Susan!" he exclaimed. She could then hear him muttering something about mistaken identity to their mother. "Sorry, I did not mean to shout. Um, ah, why are you calling?"

"I…just found out Peter was here looking for me, but left when he didn't find me. Is something wrong?"

"No," Edmund said, his voice muffled to keep their mother from eavesdropping. "We were just concerned since we had not heard from you in so long. Where are you?"

"Romania. I…made some friends here. I am perfectly safe," she reassured.

"And…kinda not sure if this is what I should ask, please don't hang up, but um…Narnia?" Edmund asked tentatively.

"I…lets not get into that now," Susan said primly. "I – I have to go back to work."

"Wait – how can we contact you? Romania's not exactly cheap to visit," Edmund said rapidly.

"I…I'll call again more regularly. The people I am staying with do not really have a phone," Susan mused.

"I miss you," Edmund complained. "We all do."

"Does…does Peter still hate me?"

"What- no! He… he went all the way to…where, Romania? Just to see you! You know he loves you no matter what," Edmund protested.

Susan felt a bit warmer. Even though she was not ready to face them, she needed to know her family still cared about her. She gripped the phone tighter, somewhat wishing she could be hugging them instead. After her phone silence, Edmund asked. "How about Christmas? It's months away, but can you at least give us Christmas holiday at home? No talk of Narnia, promise."

"Sure. I…I can give you Christmas. I love you, Ed," Susan said warmly. "Tell the others I love them, and…and…I'll call back in a few weeks."

"Love you, Su. Please call sooner than that," Edmund said in a very quiet voice as she hung up. She leaned against the glass of the booth, sighing, unsure if the distance was still good for her or not.

"So, pick your poison," Kaliyah said when they got to her flat, pouring herself a large draft of beer.

"Same is fine," Susan said tiredly, running her temples.

After they "So why is Charlie evil?" Kaliyah asked.

"Hid the fact that my brother visited looking for me," Susan said.

"Trying to bring you home?" Kaliyah guessed.

"According to my other brother who I called, just concern since I hadn't talked with them."

"I'm guessing _Charlie_ assumed it was to bring you home," Kaliyah said, wagging her eyebrows.

"What's that mean? That wag? What was it?" Susan accused, wagging her finger at Kaliyah's eyebrows.

"C'mon. You'd have to be blind to not notice the friction between the two of you," she teased, downing another drink. "Charlie's been desperate to be around you since he met you. Never thought he'd be the type to go for a _Squib_. Ah, no offense."

"Go for?" Susan said, ignoring the insult.

"You _know_ ," Kaliyah giggled, kicking Susan's leg and sticking her tongue out teasingly. "He is… _enamored_ by you."

"No, he just always acts flirty with everyone," Susan protested.

"No, no no, not the same, not the same at all," Kaliyah said, wagging her finger now. "He gravitates to you. And you to him. Look, I'm not saying he _should_ have hid your brother being here from you, I mean… he's a f***king jerk for doing that. _But_ , maybe, just maaaaybe, this was more of a, say, moment of weakness out of fear of losing you, and not purely spiteful."

"Huh," Susan said, tapping her drink.

Meanwhile, Ned was trying desperately to get Charlie to stop sulking. "Seriously. I have _never_ seen you this upset."

"I…I've never done something this awful to someone else before," Charlie sulked.

"Really? I totally've done worse," Ned said casually.

"Are- Are you _bragging_ about that?" Charlie said skeptically.

"Yeah, yeah sure. Point is, you're sulky and annoying," Ned said, crumpling up some paper to throw at him. "Get dressed for work. Or else I'm going to leave without you." Charlie only grumbled incoherently. Ned rolled his eyes. " _Susan_ will probably be at work. And might be cooled down since yesterday."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Charlie groaned, although he did finally get up off the couch.

Charlie's heart began pounding when Susan gestured for him to step aside to talk privately with each other. She crossed her arms, seemed to be searching for the right words. She finally took a breath and said, "I never asked why."

"What?" Charlie said, frowning.

"I…never asked why you hid this from me," Susan clarified.

"I…was being an idiot – " he began.

"No, I mean…you must have justified it to yourself somehow. What was that reason?" Susan insisted, looking directly into Charlie's eyes as he could feel his every heart beat.


End file.
